The Cootamundra Bulldogs’ League Tag side may have fallen short of a grand final appearance, but their 2026 season has provided plenty of reasons for optimism.
The Bulldogs’ season came to an end at Harris Park last Sunday, with Temora claiming a 24-4 victory in the Group 9 League Tag preliminary final.
Having suffered a 32-0 defeat to the Dragons in the qualifying final just a fortnight earlier, the Bulldogs had every reason to believe they could produce a much-improved performance in their second meeting.
They had already shown they were capable of getting the better of Temora during the regular season, defeating the Dragons 16-4 in Round 10.
Temora started strongly in Sunday’s preliminary final and opened the scoring before the Bulldogs began to find some space in the Dragons’ defence.
Willow Hall crossed for Cootamundra to give the Bulldogs some reward for their efforts, but the Dragons continued to apply plenty of pressure.
That pressure eventually made it difficult for the Bulldogs to maintain the quality of their defence, with Temora scoring several quick-fire tries before half-time to take a 24-4 lead into the break.
While the result brought an end to Cootamundra’s season, the campaign has shown the Bulldogs are not far away from challenging the competition’s leading sides.
A 12-3 record throughout the regular season is testament to the quality of the side, with the relatively young Bulldogs squad also providing plenty of encouragement for what could lie ahead in the coming seasons.
The League Tag side also flew the flag for the Bulldogs throughout the finals series, becoming the only Cootamundra side to progress into the postseason.
There was further reward for the club through a pair of individual achievements.
Amarli Kelleher finished the season as the competition’s leading try scorer with 29 tries, while Maddy Gillies shared the Weissel Medal for Group 9’s best and fairest player with Temora’s Emily Perrot and Tumut’s Brigid Rhynehart.
While the Bulldogs won’t get the opportunity to compete for the premiership this season, their League Tag side has provided plenty of reasons for the club to look forward to the future.
With a young squad, a strong regular-season record and some of the competition’s best individual talent, there is every reason to believe the Bulldogs can be back in the finals hunt again in the years ahead.
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